Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
He hits the bag again and glares at me. “How about you stick with the original ten, keep working here until you have a good plan, then run me through it?”
That’s not as good as getting another five percent, but I can see when I’m being greedy. We come to an agreement and he goes back to working out while I buckle down and fill in the details. Timing, manpower, equipment, how to deal with potential law enforcement, potential problems and unforeseen circumstances. I’m as thorough as I can be, and for a little while I forget all about my terrible life.
I like doing this. Heck, I’m good at it. At least, I think so. My father said I have a brain for this work and was always encouraging me to get more involved in the day-to-day operations of a big crime network. That wasn’t really easy when I was younger, and now I wish I had applied myself even harder. Maybe I could’ve learned more before it was too late.
Instead, I’m stuck glancing over at shirtless Ronan getting all sweaty again while he punches stuff.
But eventually, I’m finished, and he mercifully sits still for long enough to hear me out. He makes some suggestions, which aren’t terrible even though it pains me to admit it, and in the end we have a workable plan.
“All right baby, now how do we seal this deal? Should we go for a kiss? Maybe a lap dance?”
“How about I get up and walk out of here without kicking you in the crotch and we’ll call that a win?” I give him a sweet smile as I stuff my binder back into my bag. It has fishing weights glued onto the interior covers, and it’ll drop like a stone when I toss it into the water on my way home.
“Wonderful. I look forward to making some money with you.”
“Just don’t fuck it up, okay?”
He pretends to look hurt. “I could never, not with such a thorough mastermind running the show.”
I flip him off and walk away, and when I get outside I realize I’m smiling, which is unacceptable. I wipe it away, remind myself that Ronan’s an annoying dick, and stomp back to my car.
Chapter 6
Ronan
The Capo’s operation is an hour outside of the city. His garage and junkyard are surrounded by a big chain-link fence, and this mangy-looking dog patrols the open spaces. It’s exactly like she said it’d be, and Niall frowns through his binoculars as the rest of the men get into position.
“And the fucking Santoro girl just brought this to you?” He shakes his head and looks at me. “She’s got an ulterior motive. No doubt in my mind.”
“Of course she does.” I don’t mention that I know it already: she’s dead broke and desperate to avoid going homeless. “But what’s it matter? She’s right and we’re about to build a nice little business for our family.”
His eyebrows raise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I lean back in my seat and smile to myself. This is the part I didn’t tell Valentina about. Her plan is all about breaking into this place and taking all the cash and any valuables—but that’s thinking too small.
“Her little Capo friend down there has a good thing going, and you said it yourself, the cousins think I’ve been too soft. Well, we’re not here to rob the guy. We’re here to take him over.”
Niall looks surprised, but he finally laughs and raises the binoculars again. “Fucking devious.”
“His network won’t give a shit who’s writing their checks, so long as everyone gets paid and nobody gets a bullet to the head. Well, except for him.”
“The cousins will like it. Another revenue stream.”
“That’s the big thinking that makes me such a wonderful boss.” I get a text from Seamus on my encrypted phone: everyone’s ready to go.
I wait to send the greenlight. I let myself savor this moment, because Valentina was right. Her plan makes total sense, and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’ll work. It was hard, sitting around that bar and watching her work like a good little office drone, but I might’ve played up the ADHD a little harder than necessary, mostly to see what she was made of.
And she came through. A well-thought-out and solid operation.
Yes, we’ve all got ulterior motives, I can’t deny it.
“Let’s do this,” I say and send the text that sets the fireworks off.
In this case, the fireworks consist of a very large truck driving very fast followed by two more trucks filled with heavily armed men. Meanwhile, Niall, six other trusted soldiers, and I hit the back of the place. We toss rugs over the barbed wire and climb, and when the guards start shooting at the front gate, we’re there to take them out from behind. Turns out the dog’s not even a problem: the mangy animal barks like wild but doesn’t actually try to bite anyone.